The present invention relates to a synthetic resin tag pin used for attaching a price tag or other indication tag (label for article) to an article or for interconnecting two or more articles together.
A tag pin using a synthetic resin, particularly nylon, with the filament portion and the head portion integrally molded into an H-shape as a whole, has already been proposed, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,666.
This prior art tag pin has a superior function such that it can attach a price tag or the like to an article such as cloth, etc. by using an attaching device in a single and simple operation. The size of this tag pin is such that in the case of a standard one, the thickness of the transverse bar portion is 1.0 mm, the length thereof is 9.0 mm, the length of the filament portion 15.0-60.0 mm, the thickness thereof at the stretched portion 0.5 mm, the lateral size of the head portion 9.0 mm and the longitudinal size thereof at the center portion about 4.0-6.0 mm.
As a shape for the head portion, there have been known those such as a rectangular one shown in FIG. 1(A) and another one having a mountain-shaped upper side as shown in FIG. 1(B). In any case, the edge portion M of the head portion opposite to the transverse bar portion is formed parallel to the transverse bar portion.
This kind of tag pin is very small in its size as exemplified above, and its weight per unit amounts to about 0.8-2.0 g. Moreover, since there is a problem in the individual production of the tag pins from the viewpoint of production and handling thereof, in practice a plurality of tag pins (for example 20-50 pieces) are molded integrally in a lump as shown in FIG. 2. Explaining completely with reference to FIG. 2, a tag pin A is composed of a transverse bar portion 1, a filament portion 2 and a head portion 3, and a connecting portion 4 extended in the opposite direction to the attaching portion of the filament 2 to the transverse bar portion 1, and said connecting portion is connected to a connecting bar 5 which serves also as a pouring hole (runner) for molten resin, and thus a plurality of tag pins are assembled like a comb. In the case where the length of the filament potions 2 in a tag pin group is relatively short, the portion of the head portions 3 are generally held in place. However, with an increasing length in the filament portions 2, the flexibility of these portions increases, so that the head portions 3 becomes easy to displace, thereby resulting in an occurrence of entangling of the filament portions 2. In the case where the tag pins are made of nylon resin, they have a relatively good shape holding property immediately after the molding thereof, but nylon causes moisture absorption as time goes by, and consequently the filament portions become gradually soft and thereby tag pin groups become easily entangled with each other, particularly in the case where the head portions intertwine as shown in FIG. 3. It is very troublesome to release these groups from each other, once they are entangled.
In the packing process of the tag pins after the molding thereof, it is normal to accommodate about 5,000 to 10,000 tag pins in one box, and in the course of transportation if necessary, or at the time of use, a number of tag pins are taken out of the box together and then the remaining ones are returned to the box. However, in such cases, the tag pin groups often become entangled as shown in FIG. 3. Consequently, a method of integrally molding a tag pin group with their adjacent heads interconnected by means of a thin string in skewered condition has been proposed (for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,657). However, the tag pin groups molded by said method are difficult to separate into individual units from the group at the time of use thereof, and since said connecting string must be pulled off, the connecting string may be left on the side of the head portion as projection. Also this tip portion of said projection may be subjected to stretching thereby leaving it in a pointed condition, so that the pointed projection may snag delicate knittings or fabrics and this results in damage thereto.
As is well known in the art, molding of a delicate thin connecting string is very difficult, and from the viewpoint of technique, the limit of molding thereof is in a range of 0.1 to 0.15 mm in diameter. Also, if this connecting string is easy to cut off, it may often accidently cut off during the transportation or handling thereof, and when a part of the connecting string be cut off, the handling of the tag pins becomes more troublesome than ever. In order to mold this connecting string, delicate workings on a metal mold are required, so that the metal mold per se becomes expensive. Also, excessive management of the metal mold and delicate working thereon may be necessary, and thus its service life becomes short.